


Arcadia

by celedan



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Bottom Ianto, First Time, Fuck Or Die, M/M, Top Jack, being stranded on a foreign planet, by falling through the Rift, fertility rite, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 07:53:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13497812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celedan/pseuds/celedan
Summary: Jack and Ianto fall through a Rift portal, and find themselves on a beautiful, idyllic planet. Of course, it's too perfect to be true because after the citizens of the nearby village have spotted them, they politely force Ianto to take part in a fertility rite. Luckily, Jack manages to stake his claim on Ianto so that he shall be the one to perform the ritual with him. Nonetheless, that doesn't change the fact that Ianto has never been on the bottom before, and his idea of a first time doesn't really consist of being displayed on an altar for all to see while he has sex.





	Arcadia

**Author's Note:**

> The picture the landscape reminds Ianto of is actually the picture that inspired me to this story. It's Thomas Cole's “The Arcadian or Pastoral State” from 1836, and it's part of Cole's series “The Course of the Empire”. We spoke about it in a lecture a little while ago, and when I saw the picture (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Cole_Thomas_The_Course_of_Empire_The_Arcadian_or_Pastoral_State_1836.jpg), one of the first thoughts that came to my mind was, which kinds of rituals may they hold in the temple that is situated in the middle of such a peaceful, idyllic landscape? You can clearly see the smoke from some ritualistic fires rising from the building, and somehow, I had to think about Jack and Ianto in a fuck-or-die situation, don't know why, et voilà. This is the result. Enjoy.

“Jack! Watch out!”

Jack turned in the direction of Ianto's frantic cry, and in the next second, the younger man crashed into him to push him out of the way. But it was too late. The light emanating from the object they'd found became brighter and brighter until it enveloped the two men completely. They clutched tight to each other, and closed their eyes against the blinding white. Then, they knew nothing any more.

 

Groaning, Ianto came to. He blinked, for the moment being blinded by pleasantly warm sun. He crinkled his nose. Cardiff hadn't sunshine like that. He put his hands under himself to push himself into a sitting position, noticing he lay on soft, sun-warmed grass that emitted a pleasant smell. He looked around, and was momentarily stunned by the beauty of the landscape he found himself in all of a sudden. But all this beauty was  secondary just now. His first priority at the moment was finding Jack. 

He didn't have to look that far because he immediately spotted him lying a few metres away. Thankfully, he was in the process of waking up, too.

“Jack,” he called, and Jack looked over to him, disorientation shining in his eyes for a second, but clearly relieved that Ianto was with him and apparently all right.

“Are you all right?” he asked nonetheless, and struggled up.

Ianto did the same, brushing bits of grass from his suit, and nodded. “I think so. Do you have any idea where we are?” Ianto looked hopefully at Jack who looked around with a frown. He did the same, now taking the time to take in their surroundings more closely. It was indeed a beautiful, idyllic landscape with warm, sunny weather. Lush meadows surrounded them with a few groves here and there. In the distance, beyond a bay, Ianto could make out majestic mountains. It was so peaceful here, as if this planet had never been touched by the racket of civilisation; no loud machines or vehicles, no bustling crowds, only the bleating of sheep-like animals in the distance and other sounds of nature... It looked like something out of a painting Ianto had once seen.

“It looks familiar. Wait a minute.” Jack started punching buttons on his Vortex Manipulator. “Aha!” he cried finally. “We're on Arcadia. Lovely planet. Knew I'd been here before once.”

“And who lives here? Giant squids with a preference for stranded humans?” Ianto enquired impassively, but this time, even he couldn't hide his trepidation.

“No, no,” Jack laughed. “They're humanoid. Lovely people, like their planet. We are...” He pushed a few more buttons. “On one of the islands surrounding the continent. I've only been there, but I imagine, here's not so different as if we were in the capital.” 

Ianto grumbled something that sounded like “your optimism”. He rubbed his forehead in exasperation. “How do we get back?”

“I'll activate a signal in my Vortex Manipulator. Tosh should be able to locate it, Arcadia isn't that far from Earth, and since the device that brought us here is obviously kind of a portable Rift manipulator, she can use it to bring us back. Jack smiled encouragingly at him. “She'll figure this out. I promise.”

Ianto couldn't suppress another grumble, but since he had the highest confidence in Tosh's abilities, he didn't say anything further.

He didn't get the chance anyway because right at that moment, a group of people came hurrying their direction.

“Jack!” he cautioned. 

Jack spun around. Ianto noticed the slight stiffening of his spine, but apart from that, he plastered a charming smile onto his face.

“ _Welcome, welcome!_ ” the leader cried delighted, rushing up to them, right past Jack, and grabbed an alarmed Ianto's shoulders. 

“ _The Gods send you, oh you Blessed One!_ ” the leader, a good-looking man in his forties with blonde hair continued. 

“Jack, what are they saying?” Ianto asked, his eyes wide with fear. 

Damn. Right. Ianto couldn't understand them. They were speaking a lightly accented Galactic Standard which wasn't that far from Earth's English and therefore probably wouldn't have posed a great problem for Ianto to master, but they had no time at the moment for that.

“I'll sort it out,” he promised Ianto before he turned to the other man just as the other men wanted to grab Ianto, and steer him away. “ _Excuse me,_ ” he bellowed, even though he tried to stay polite as he switched into Galactic Standard. “ _What is the meaning of this?!_ ” 

The man blinked. “ _Oh. You're not from here?_ ”

“ _I'm... from the continent, my friend is from... much farther away._ ” The Arcadians were a secluded race who hadn't much dealing with other worlds. 

“ _Then you should know that your dark-haired friend is a Gods' send blessing. He will take part in the Ritual tomorrow._ ” He indicated his men once more to lead Ianto away.

“ _Wait a minute, will you!_ ” Jack protested vehemently over Ianto's startled yelp as they grabbed him. “ _You won't take him anywhere. He is mine!_ ” Jack stated firmly – vaguely remembering them having a rather liberal form of slavery here which seemed his only chance at the moment to keep Ianto with him –, and drew himself up to his full height, putting on his imposing, dangerous Captain personality. Thank God, it seemed to work, the leader bowed his head in respect, and the other men let go of Ianto who hurried back to Jack's side. 

“ _Of course. Then you have precedence to him in the Ritual of course. Unless you want to leave the honours to one of our priests?_ ” The leader looked enquiringly at Jack who hastily shook his head. “ _No. It will be me,_ ” he stated confidently even if he still didn't know what the Hell this Ritual should entail, and obviously, these people couldn't imagine Jack not celebrating this Ritual since they hadn't even asked if he knew what they were talking about. If this was such a big affair here, then why hadn't he heard of it when he had been here? Strange. Maybe it was fun. 

“ _Very good._ ” The leader smiled. “ _Please follow me. You will be our guests of course._ ”

Jack contemplated refusing, putting up a fight, and fleeing, but the other men closed around them in polite but subtle thread. They were too many, even if they weren't armed. Jack and Ianto weren't either, though, they must have lost their guns on the other side of the portal.

“ _All right, lead on._ ” Jack nodded, and gnashed his teeth.

The leader beamed at them, and turned in the direction of the small village they could make out a little ways down the hills.

The small procession started moving. Jack and Ianto didn't have another choice but to go with them. All the while, Jack had an possessive arm slung around Ianto's waist.

“What is going on here, Jack?” Ianto hissed softly, nervously scanning their surroundings.

“We are to take part in a ritual,” he hissed back.” Apparently, as far as I understood him, dark-haired people like you are sacred around here or something like that. They are all blond, see.”

“Great,” Ianto growled, taking in their hosts, indeed realising their hair was a golden blond colour. “I'm their equivalent of a holy cow.” 

Jack tightened his hold around Ianto's waist encouragingly. “Don't worry. I told them you are mine, my slave, kind of, so they assured me that it would be me partaking in this ritual with you.”

Ianto ignored the indignity of now being Jack's slave to top it all, even if with the chores he had, tidying after the team all the time, it wasn't that far from the truth in his opinion sometimes. “And if your job is to sacrifice me to some cannibalistic God?!” Ianto instead hissed back, furious and scared shitless.

Jack blanched, but he smiled reassuringly. Even he had to admit it turned out a little strained. “They aren't cannibals. And I've never heard of human sacrifices around here before.”

“You were gone a long time,” Ianto reminded sourly.

Jack thought about this. “I believe I haven't even been here yet.”

Ianto groaned. “See. This is some ancient ritual, and they will eat me. You probably get the honours to put me on the grill.”

“Stop it!” Jack hissed angrily, slowly becoming equally as afraid as Ianto. “We'll be fine. I'm sure it's completely harmless. And if it's not, we'll fight our way out of here.”

“With which weapons and where to?” 

Jack groaned exasperated. Why did Ianto have to shatter his heroic escape plans with his logic?!

“I'll think of something,” Jack pressed out through gritted teeth. “You're with the Captain, you'll be safe. And now shut up.” 

 

They were led into a small, rustic village that looked equally as idyllic as the landscape. It was situated directly at the shore of the river or ocean, Ianto couldn't quite identify what kind of waters it was. Right above the village on a bluff sat a megalithic temple that inspired an uneasy feeling in Ianto, namely that this would be where this ritual would probably take place tomorrow. He hastily averted his gaze.

The houses were modest, built from yellow sandstone and wood, looking right as if from ancient Greece. The clothes the people wore suited this image. And wasn't there a region in Greece that was actually called Arcadia? One that was said to be a mythological place where people lived in an unspoiled wilderness in total peace and harmony? He believed Arcadia had actually been the theme of the picture this landscape reminded him of. The only question now was, what was called Arcadia first? This planet or the region in Greece? For a moment, the researcher in him was awakened, and wondered how it had come to be that both had the same name...

But he squashed these thoughts again ruthlessly. He would have been highly interested if he could have researched this in theory from his computer in the Hub or down in the Archives, but unfortunately, he was stuck on field research, and therefore, it wasn't a game any more. Even if this ritual turned out to be completely harmless, it was something he could definitely go without in his opinion.

The leader of the group, the high priest of the village as it turned out, Arkados, showed them to a small, pretty house.

“ _You can stay here,_ ” he explained. “ _You will be our most cherished guests of course. You will want for nothing._ ” He turned towards the exit again. “ _We will start with the preparations now. Don't worry, everything will be ready until tomorrow._ ”

“What a relief,” Ianto growled sarcastically after Jack had translated the priest's words for him.

“ _Arkados!_ ” Jack hurried after the man. “ _Could you explain the procedures to me?_ ” he asked. “ _I'm not sure if the Ritual here is the same as on the continent._ ”

“ _Of course,_ ” Arkados beamed. “ _Come with me._ ”

Jack turned around to Ianto before he left the small house to follow Arkados. “I'll find out more about the Ritual. You'll see, you'll be fine.” And with a bright, confident smile, Jack was gone.

“You're saying that awfully often since we're here,” Ianto muttered, and settled down on a comforting looking divan to await Jack's return. 

 

Awfully cheery, Jack burst into the house some time later. Excited, he threw himself onto the divan next to Ianto, and grabbed for the food that had been brought while he'd been away. Not that Ianto had touched it, though; his stomach was in too much of a nervous turmoil for that.

The younger man frowned sceptically. “Why are you so cheerful?”

“Good news,” Jack beamed around a mouthful of roasted meat.

Ianto rolled his eyes at Jack's table manners.

“What! I'm starving,” Jack defended himself, and shoved a plate of food over to Ianto. “Here, you should eat something as well. You'll need your strength tomorrow.” He couldn't stop the suggestive waggling of his eyebrows.

Ianto's stomach was in knots already, but now, he felt as if he'd swallowed stones like the poor wolf in the fairy tale. “Jack!” he snapped, almost on the verge of a breakdown.

“It's a fertility rite!” Jack finally exclaimed, beaming brightly.

Ianto blinked at him, gob-smacked for a good long while. “Oh,” he breathed, quickly composing himself as his shock rapidly made way for anger. “Then it's all right, I suppose,” he snapped, glaring daggers at Jack.

The older man shrugged. “They're not gonna eat you. That's something at last.”

Ianto had to withstand the urge to strangle Jack with his own braces. He took in a deep, shuddering breath, curling his hands into tight fists on his thighs. “How will they proceed?” he pressed out through gritted teeth, pointedly not looking at Jack in anticipated mortified shame and embarrassment of what he would learn.

Jack, quickly realising that he was threading on very thin ice here, put down his food, chastened. “The Ritual takes place every three years, in every one of the three villages on the island,” Jack explained, and under normal circumstances, Ianto would have been interested to hear about the history of this rite. As Ianto didn't react, Jack continued subdued, “I didn't quite grasp why, but dark-haired people are indeed blessed by the Gods in their beliefs. So, for the Ritual, there is needed a dark-haired Chosen One.”

“And since these people are all blond...”

“Yeah. It's incredibly rare that a dark-haired child is born. It's closely guarded all their life so that none of the other villages can kidnap them which seems to be an acceptable practice if how natural it seemed for them to kidnap you earlier was any indication. First come, first served...” Jack shrugged apologetically. “When there is no naturally dark-haired person, they chose somebody, and dye their hair for the Ritual.”

“What happens then?”

“As soon as the Chosen turns seventeen, they are prepared for the Ritual. The substitutes are chosen randomly, but being a virgin is of course preferable because it's more potent.”

Ianto pondered this for a while. “It's a fertility rite,” he said eventually.

“Yes.”

“So that means...”

“A public, ritual claiming, yes,” Jack answered softly. “Normally, the rite is consummated with one of the priests. If the Chosen is already engaged, they consummate it with their intended instead which is supposed to bring even more of a blessing since it's a union forged to create life sooner or later after all.”

Ianto's head snapped up. His thoughts had come to a standstill the moment Jack had explained that the Chosen had to consummate the rite with one of the priests. “So, they're all right with more or less being publicly raped while their families and friends are watching?!”

Jack cringed. “They are prepared for this moment their whole life,” he explained softly. “It's an honour to them.”

“Well, tough,” Ianto spat. “Not for me.”

Furious, he jumped up, and started to pace agitated. “I won't stand for this!”

“You don't have a choice, Ianto,” Jack explained patiently, not without sympathy, and watched Ianto pace. 

“I'll simply get out of here tonight. I'll hide in the woods until this stupid ritual is over, and the others find a way to get us back.”

“There are guards all around the house,” Jack sighed softly. “Go.” He tilted his head. “See for yourself.”

Ianto stopped his pacing, and looked at Jack with gritted teeth, but he didn't go to the door to assure himself. He trusted Jack's words. Desperate, helpless tears suddenly gathered in his eyes, and he turned away from Jack once more. “I can't, Jack.”

Jack rose, and came over to him, stopping close behind Ianto. He grabbed his shoulders comfortingly. “You don't have a choice,” he whispered emphatically. “But remember, I'm with you all the way. Nobody will touch you but me. You have my word.”

This made Ianto relax slightly, and he leaned back against Jack's chest. The thought what would have happened if he'd come here alone... Maybe for these people it wasn't rape, but for him, it was. He'd never been more grateful for Jack's presence than now.

The tears fell nonetheless.

“I've never...” He trailed of, his voice failing due to the lump in his throat. 

Jack squeezed his shoulders harder before he wrapped his arms around Ianto. Lovingly, he pressed a kiss against Ianto's neck. “I'm sorry,” he whispered. “I didn't want your first time to be like that.”

Ianto nodded mutely, a bitter noise coming out of his throat.

It had been some time now since they started to fool around, mostly in dark, secluded corners of the Hub or when the others had long gone home for the night. Having sex with Jack was amazing, but until now, they hadn't done anything more than bringing each other off with their hands or mouths, sometimes simply frotting against each other frantically with all their clothes on like two teenagers afraid of getting caught. The only exception had been last week and the day before yesterday. The first time, it had been a close call for them all, and Jack had been especially reckless. Afterwards, Ianto supposed that it had been a typical reaction of soldiers coming out of a battle still alive, but at the heat of the moment, he hadn't cared what had fuelled their reaction. The only thing he'd known then was that he burned for Jack, that he had to feel him, to make sure that they were both still alive. And when he had pushed Jack roughly against his desk in his office while kissing each other almost brutally, and then had spun him around, and forced him to bend over the desk to fuck him raw, it had been all about being alive. The second time had been the exact opposite. It was late, they were in the mood after kissing and fondling each other for what felt like hours, and Jack had asked him to take him. He'd seen Ianto's reluctance to be the one on the bottom, and he had accepted with good grace that the younger man wasn't ready yet. For a man like Jack, it didn't really matter who was on top as long as both had a good time. And so, in the course of only one week, Ianto had taken Jack for the second time, this time savouring the arousal, their heaving bodies covered in sweat, and their strained muscles and bones slowly turning to jelly the more their desire built. In that blissful but tender moments, he couldn't deny that he had imagined what it would be like to be on the receiving end, but he had definitely known that he wasn't ready yet for this.

But now, the decision when he was supposed to be ready to have his first experience on the bottom had obviously been taken out of Ianto's hands. He didn't feel cheated of the experience exactly, but it was horrifying to him  _how_ it should take place. 

Jack, showing his seldomly displayed empathy, seemed to have an inkling of what Ianto was thinking just now.

“I wanted to make it special for you,” he murmured regretfully, and pressed another, apologetic kiss behind Ianto's ear.

Ianto snorted bitterly. “Yeah. It  _is_ special, indeed.” 

And with that, he twisted out of Jack's embrace, and lay down on one of the divans, his back to Jack. He tried to force himself to sleep, curled up as small as possible so as if he could shut all of this out like that. Surely, when he woke up in the morning, he would do so in his own bed, realising it had all been a bad dream.

He heard Jack sigh behind him, and lay down on the other divan after he extinguished the candles.

They both didn't sleep that night.

 

They came for them by noon. After a rich meal, they led the two men outside and through the village where awed residents stared after them, or rather, after Ianto. He'd never hated his hair more than now, that was for sure.

Arkados awaited them in front of two houses that looked more like small temples than residences, richly decorated with pillars and ornamental capitals and what not. He smiled brightly at them, and asked them if they had had a restful night.

Ianto didn't answer since he didn't understand the man (and since he was still seething, he wouldn't have answered Arkados anyway even if he had understood him), and Jack gave the priest a forced smile, confirming that their night had indeed been restful.

“ _Splendid,_ ” Arkados smiled. “ _Then we can begin with the preparations for the Ritual._ ”

When it became apparent though that they wanted to separate them, Jack put up a struggle. “ _Ianto can't understand you,_ ” he cautioned. “ _He will be afraid._ ”

“ _I can assure you that no harm will come to him, but I have to insist that you don't see each other before the Ritual. Maybe you should tell him that. The preparations consist mostly of ritual baths for purification. It will be very pleasurable and relaxing._ ”

Jack gritted his teeth but nodded. He turned to Ianto who looked at him with renewed fear. “I'm sorry,” he said softly. “But they insist that we be prepared separately.”

“Jack, no,” Ianto pleaded, but Jack shook his head regretfully. 

“I can't do anything about it. But he assured me that there will be mostly stuff like ritual baths. Probably a lot of perfumes and herbs and incense sticks.” Gently, Jack cupped Ianto's cheek with his hand, tenderly stroking his thumb over his cheek bone, and he smiled at him reassuringly. “Just go along with it.”

Ianto inhaled sharply, but eventually, he nodded jerkily, and let himself be led away since he didn't have another choice anyway. Jack looked after him until he had disappeared in one of the two temples.

“ _Please,_ ” he said to Arkados. “ _It's his first time. Treat him carefully._ ”

Arkados' eyes brightened. “ _Oh, bless the Gods. To be truthful, I have been worried slightly because of his age, but if you say he is a virgin, then I am relieved. This will only heighten the strength of the Ritual as I told you already yesterday._ ”

Jack cringed about letting that slip, but nodded politely, not pointing out that Ianto was a virgin only in  _this_ specific act. The rest of Mr. Jones' sexual history wasn't so innocent by far any more thanks to one Captain Jack Harkness. 

As he was led into the other building, Jack decided not to tell Ianto how happy everyone here was about his supposed virginity. The poor boy was mortified enough, and would only blame Jack in the end anyway for it, so, better not say anything, and suffer Ianto's wrath.

 

The day passed in a strange way. There was, as predicted, indeed a lot of bathing in scented water, all kinds of incense sticks being waved about, ritual songs, light refreshments like fruits in between which Jack hoped Ianto would eat, and – and there, Jack finally came to the point where he didn't think it so horrible here any more –, after a heavenly massage, being oiled from head to toe with spicy smelling oil. There were worse ways to spend the day, he decided. He only hoped that Ianto felt equally as pampered as he did at the moment.

Slowly, the sun began to set, and a bright full moon rose above the bay, bathing everything in silver light. Numerous torches were lit that illuminated the path up to the temple which throned above the village, beckoning the people with promises of unforgettable events to come.

His nervousness and anxiety mounting into the almost unbearable, Ianto let himself be led out of the building he had spend the day in. His jittery nerves calmed down somewhat as he spotted Jack, but at the same time, he was uncomfortably reminded of what awaited him at the Captain's presence.

Jack smiled at him soothingly, and the priests allowed him to come over to Ianto.

“How are you?” he asked gently.

Ianto shrugged, not meeting his eyes, but also not wanting to look at the rest of Jack because he knew that the Captain, much like himself, was completely naked under the flowing white robes he wore. “Okay, I think.” He rather not tell Jack that, despite the baths and the pleasant massage which had been quite soothing, they had prepared his body quite thoroughly for the Ritual. He would find out soon enough, he supposed. Mortification crept up on him again. He'd never live this down. Thank God Owen wasn't here to witness his shame.

He jumped when Jack squeezed his hand briefly, then the older man was led away, and the procession up to the temple began. They were surrounded by the priests who carried lanterns and incense sticks. The priest who was first in line threw delicate flower petals in the air to scatter over their path. Ceremonious singing and chanting softly reached Ianto's ear, and, combined with the incense, almost lulled him to sleep. At least, he relaxed somewhat, suddenly feeling far, far away. Maybe, it was for the best.

The residents of the village lined the street to the temple, watching in awe, all of them smiling in anticipation.  _I'd be excited as well at the prospect of free live porn_ , Ianto thought scornfully. There were a lot of people. Ianto recalled that this morning, Jack had told him that, should one village have a true dark-haired Chosen, the other villages are invited for the Ritual. This was all about expressing power and superiority, though. Having a dark-haired Chosen One that could be presented to the envious eyes of their neighbours was an enormous increase in prestige, and obviously had something to do with trading benefits for the village in question.  _Good for them_ , he thought snidely, but pushed these thoughts out of his head quickly since it only made him all the more angry.

It wasn't far up to the temple looming above them, but the procession was slow, so it took them almost half an hour to get there.

Ianto, and after him Jack, was led into the monolithic building. The separate columns, with torches fastened to them, being arranged in a circle were only crowned by a heavy stone ring but no actual roof so that the stars and the full moon shone upon the altar in the middle of the circle. Ianto swallowed heavily as he spied the smooth, wide stone table decorated with flowers and fruits. He almost bolted, but he was overly aware of the presence of the priests surrounding him closely.

Most of the priests lined themselves up along the column circle, all facing the altar. Over their heads, Ianto could make out the villagers who had followed the procession up here after it had passed them. The area around the temple was slightly raised so that they could all watch what was happening inside comfortingly. Great. He and his luck.

By now, only two priests flanked Ianto who was stopped by them right before the altar by laying gentle hands onto his shoulder. Jack stood slightly behind him, Arkados before them on the opposite side of the altar. The man started to say something in a chanting voice which the other priests answered in a low, constant chant. Ianto was rather glad that he couldn't understand what was being said.

He flinched as the clasp of his robes was suddenly opened, and the robes slid from his shoulders. Shivering in mortification and rage as his naked body was bared to all the numerous onlookers, he held his gaze fixed firmly onto the smooth granite of the altar. A slight nudge from his wards brought him forward, nearer and nearer to the altar. Touching his shoulder, they made him turn around, and helped him onto the surprisingly low altar where he came to lie onto his back. He tried to find purchase in the smooth stone, curling his fingers against it lest he gave in to the temptation to punch someone, and he looked up, meeting Jack's eyes just as he was divested of his robes as well. Ianto's breath caught so that, for a short moment, he forgot all of his surroundings as well as his anger and mortification. Jack was so beautiful, and now, he got the chance to see him completely naked for the first time; their previous encounters having been almost completely clothed at the time with the exception of their being together almost three days ago. But then, it had been rather dark down in Jack's quarters. But now, Ianto could really look at his lover. Jack's tanned skin was oiled like Ianto's so that it shone like liquid gold in the light of the torches, the starkly contrasted play of light and shadow teasing out every last hardly sculpted muscle on his body, making him look like the statue of a Greek god. His eyes burned as they fixed upon Ianto, the azure blue shining almost unnaturally out of his shining, golden face. With a soft sigh, Ianto let his gaze slide down Jack's body, taking in his broad shoulders, his chiselled, hairless chest down towards his hard abs. He let his gaze skim over Jack's muscled arms and his strong hands that could be so incredibly wicked and gentle but at the same time unbelievably cruel. His breath caught as he trailed down Jack's slim hips only to land on his crotch. Involuntarily, his mouth watered as he laid eyes on the beautifully long, thick cock that was already half hard, and the full balls nestled underneath it in a nest of dark-blond curls. Amazingly, he wasn't afraid of the sight in the slightest, only aroused.

Swallowing heavily, Ianto's gaze trailed farther down to Jack's thickly muscled thighs that had been wrapped around Ianto's waist tightly only a couple of days ago.

He couldn't see farther, the edge of the table obscured his view, but in an attempt to see all of Jack, Ianto strained up slightly, propping himself up on his elbows, and spreading his legs to get them out of his line of sight.

Right that moment though, Jack stepped closer, Arkados' voice reaching Ianto's ears as if through cotton wool, but it was enough to jostle him out of his admiring stupor. He desperately wanted to snap his legs closed again, but Jack knelt on the edge of the altar in that second, lowering his glistening body like a vision descending onto Ianto, and crawled between his thighs. Lost again in Jack's hypnotising gaze, he spread his thighs wider again, sighing with contentment as Jack's body settled above his own, the comforting weight enough to lull Ianto once more into a sense of security.

“Hey,” Jack whispered, and smiled gently at Ianto, propped up on his elbows beside Ianto's head to look him properly in the eye. He buried one hand in Ianto's hair to soothingly massage his scalp, the other, he turned to caress Ianto's left cheek. 

Ianto felt the slight tremble of his body subside, instead, he became overly aware of the sensation of Jack's hot, oiled body pressing him down, their slick chests sliding together with every breath they took. He felt a spark of arousal shooting through him. Especially as the smell of Jack's enticing pheromones permeated the air, overlaying even the spicy smell of the oil that covered them both.

And then, Jack bend down to kiss him deeply. Ianto didn't know if that was allowed, but he was incredibly grateful that Jack did, the familiarity soothing his frayed nerves.

For the duration of the kiss, he managed to once more tune it all out. Only the taste of Jack as he pushed his tongue into Ianto's mouth and his overpowering scent counted right now. Sighing in relief, Ianto returned the kiss eagerly, and wrapped his arms around Jack's neck. He felt himself grow hard, and the feeling of Jack's hard cock pressing against his own send a thrill through him from head to toe.

The soft sound of ceremonious singing that got steadily louder wrenched Ianto from the kiss and back into reality. His eyes darted to the side, wide and haunted.

Jack's strong fingers turned his head back with gentle force. Panic-stricken, Ianto looked up at him. “Look at me,” Jack advised softly, his voice soothing but commanding. “Don't think of them, just concentrate on me.” Jack bend down to peck his lips lovingly. “You'll feel good. I promise.”

And with that, Jack slipped one hand between their bodies, rubbing enticingly over Ianto's slick chest, caressing and rubbing a hardening nipple. Then, he brushed his hand lower, over his flanks down to his hips. Jack brought his hand between them to grasp Ianto's cock to give it a few lazy strokes that left Ianto breathless and completely hard now. He gently pushed Ianto's left leg up, and encouraged him to wrap it around Jack's waist. He squeezed Ianto's ass cheek, and then his hand lost contact with Ianto's body all of a sudden. Before Ianto's could wonder what was happening, he felt the head of Jack's cock nudge his entrance as the older man guided it into place. “Look at me,” he whispered again, and rocked his hips forward in the same moment. Ianto gasped, but never broke eye contact with Jack. He clawed at Jack's shoulders, his grip slipping on the oiled skin, and he brought his other leg around Jack's waist as well, tightening his hold on the older man almost desperately.

Jack was careful as he breached him, and thankfully, there was no real pain (at least, the priest's humiliating preparations hadn't been for naught), just an overwhelming feeling of fullness that took Ianto's breath away. Jack held himself still after he'd bottomed out to give Ianto time to adjust. All the while, he watched him closely for any signs of pain, and also because he didn't want to miss even one second of Ianto's reaction during his first time bottoming.

Ianto gulped in a few deep breaths, his stretched muscles slowly becoming used to the invasion. He nodded jerkily at Jack to continue. Jack smiled at him reassuringly for one last time, then he started to move his hips. At first, to give Ianto time to get used to the feeling, it was only a slow, rocking motion. It still felt strange, but gradually, his over-sensitive muscles started to send a tingle through Ianto that rushed directly to his cock, firming it up again after his arousal had gone down slightly out of nervousness when Jack had slid into him.

Bracing himself on one arm for more leverage, Jack looked him firmly in the eye. “Ready for more?” he asked, still closely watching Ianto's every reaction. He must have deem him ready, and Ianto, gradually starting to become overwhelmed, trusted him on that. He nodded breathlessly. Jack beamed at him, and leaned down to take his mouth in a possessive, messy kiss. At the same time, he pulled almost completely out, then snapped his hips up, burying himself ball's deep into Ianto's body. The younger man gasped in shocked pleasure, trembling from head to toe in Jack's arms. He couldn't describe the feeling, not really. It felt good, but at the same time, it was still slightly uncomfortable when Jack retreated. Sliding inside was better, and with every stroke, he anticipated Jack burying himself again and again in Ianto's body. Shaking, he closed his eyes, and, taking in deep breaths, tried to concentrate solely on that one point where they were connected. He felt Jack's hard, big cock sliding inside and out, he almost imagined he could feel every single throbbing vein that pumped hot blood into the stone-hard shaft. He shuddered as he imagined what it would feel like when Jack came deep inside him, flooding his channel with hot, sticky come. His fingers tightened on Jack's shoulders, surely leaving bruises. He couldn't wait to find out what it would feel like. 

Changing his angle slightly, Jack trust up hard, and suddenly hit Ianto's prostate for the first time dead on.

Ianto cried out in a strangled voice, arching his back up off the smooth granite as pleasure he had never thought could be real flooded his bloodstream. Instinctively, the grip of his legs tightened around Jack's waist.

“You're so beautiful,” Jack breathed in awe, his gaze trailing hungrily over Ianto's ecstasy-contorted face. 

Through the fog of lust, Ianto wanted to object, wanted to laugh at Jack; after all, how could someone as beautiful as Jack Harkness think someone like him, Ianto Jones, beautiful!? He was nothing special after all; pale and with much too many dark, curly hairs covering his poorly muscled chest, surely leaning towards chubbiness just like his dad if he wasn't careful. But, opening his eyes, he sucked in a surprised breath. Because looking into Jack's eyes in just that moment, he realised that Jack Harkness really thought him beautiful. It brought tears to his eyes that he tried to blink away furiously.

“Don't,” Jack whispered, lovingly brushing the tears away from the corner of one eye with gentle fingertips before he leaned down to kiss away the tears from the other eye. “There's nothing to be ashamed of. You're just perfect.”

Ianto shuddered as Jack's hot breath fanned over his cheek, and he craned his neck to crush his lips against Jack's. He needed to kiss him so badly in that moment.

Jack complied eagerly to his demanding kiss, at the same time delivering thrust upon thrust against Ianto's prostate so that he had the younger man sobbing and mewling into the kiss which Jack drank up with his own mouth.

They clung to each other's slippery bodies, completely lost in pleasure so that none of the two ever registered what was happening around them. A meteor could have come crashing down right beside them, they wouldn't have noticed. The two men's ecstatic moans filled the air, being carried away by the slight, warm breeze swirling around the temple.

Jack's thrusts started to become jerky as his pleasure mounted, and he brought his hand once more between their bodies to bring Ianto off as well. With a strangled cry, the younger man climaxed, hot come splashing between their bellies as he trembled in Jack's arms. The Captain moaned loudly as the strong muscles of Ianto's channel started to contract rhythmically, holding his twitching cock in a vice-like grip. With one last, hard thrust, he slammed deep inside Ianto, and he came with a guttural cry.

Lying helplessly in Jack's arms, his body flooded by endorphins as he came down from his high, Ianto looked up at Jack as the other man stiffened, and came as well. His breath caught in his throat at the beauty of the other man lost in ecstasy. He moaned as he suddenly felt liquid warmth flood his passage around Jack's twitching cock. It felt so incredibly dirty and possessive that Ianto's body jerked anew in another, weaker orgasm.

Breathing heavily, he received Jack in his arms as the older man sank down onto him weakly, lying pressed tightly together heaving chest to heaving chest.

The ecstatic high Ianto was on faded quickly as reality made itself known with a final loud chant from the priests surrounding them. He really didn't want to look what had been the cause of the cry, and he swallowed back bitter, frustrated tears as the perfect world he had been in together with Jack, cut off from everything around them, was shattered so brutally all of a sudden. He recoiled, drawing in on himself, and not even Jack's murmured coaxing managed to rouse him completely from the state he had moved himself into. As if in a dream, Ianto felt as the comfortable warmth of Jack's body vanished, and he was helped to sit up and down from the altar. The light weight of the cloak was put around his shoulders once more, and he allowed Jack to lead him out of the temple, taking one step after the other as if on auto-pilot. He probably was in some kind of shock, he thought detachedly.

The nearer they came to the village, the more Ianto slowly came out of his trance-like state, and he became aware of his surroundings once more, of all the people accompanying them, chattering happily, some even singing. Resentment welled up in him again, and so, he quickened up his pace. He just wanted to get away from them. Jack was at his side the whole time, never letting go of his tight grip he had around Ianto's shoulders.

 

Being back in the guest house together was awkward, the severity of what had happened slowly creeping up on them both now. The silence that descented over them was stifling; outside, there had still been the merry-making of the villagers, but here, inside the confines of the guest house, the noises from the festivities were only a far away murmuring. Ianto didn't dare look at Jack. Instead, he stumbled through the room, and curled up on one of the divans, tightly pulling his suit jacket around himself. Thankfully, after they had been led back to the village, they had been given back their own clothing. Spurning the offer of a cleansing bath since all he wanted was to escape from the clutches of their hosts, Ianto had pulled on his clothes after hastily scrubbing his body down with a towel to get rid of the worst of the mess covering his body, and fled to the safety of their quarters. Now, he felt awfully dirty, traces of oil, sweat and semen clinging to his body, making him want to recoil from himself in disgust, but he roughly shoved his discomfort aside, and instead stoically settled for at night of elusive sleep, no matter how uncomfortable he felt.

“You want to eat something?”

Jack's soft, concerned voice snapped him out of his fuming self-pity, and he looked up at the other man for the first time, hating how put together Jack looked, not bothered by what had happened at all it seemed. The Captain held out a platter of various foods, but Ianto shook his head no. He didn't know when he had last eaten; his stomach was in knots since they had come here, and his gnawing hunger which he only now started to feel since everything was over didn't help his stomach feel any better. Mulishly, Ianto ignored the nauseous feeling of hunger.

“At least drink something,” Jack sighed. “Please, Ianto.”

Ianto pressed his lips tightly together in defiance, but finally, he relented, for a moment overcoming the strop he was in. “Okay,” he answered softly, and accepted the cup of sweet juice Jack offered him instead of the plate. The fresh, sweet juice felt good sliding down his parched throat, and only now did he realise that he probably hadn't drunk anything as well since coming here. He emptied the cup in one go, but declined a refill.

Jack sighed heavily, but didn't press him, leaving him in peace instead, and for a moment, Ianto resented him since deep inside, he _wanted_ Jack to fuss over him, even forcing him to eat and drink, and he _wanted_ Jack to come over here to take him into his arms. But he kept silent, never asking Jack for anything like that. He rather wanted to drown in self-pity in peace.

 

Ianto startled up, being roused from an uneasy but exhausted sleep he had obviously fallen into after all. Blearily, he blinked up at Jack who was shaking him insistently. “What?”

“We can go home,” Jack answered softly, inclining his head at something over his shoulder.

Filled with sudden new energy, Ianto scrambled up, and spied the shimmering portal in the middle of the room, swirling like mist in the early hours of dawn. 

Wide-eyed, he looked questioningly at Jack, and was met with an encouraging smile. He looked down in surprise when Jack took his hand. The older man gently pulled him towards the portal. Without letting go of each other's hands, they stepped through.

 

It was rather anticlimactic in the end. Ianto didn't know what he had expected, but simply stepping into the mist only to come out on the other end as if going through a door hadn't been at the forefront of his imagination. 

Nevertheless, Ianto had never been so glad to be in Splott than in the moment he stepped through the portal Tosh had managed to open here. He didn't let it show though, instead, he looked passively at the rest of the team that ran up to them excitedly after the portal had closed behind him and Jack. 

“Ev'rything all right with you two?” Gwen immediately asked concerned, though her concern was more for Jack than Ianto since she was absent-mindedly caressing Jack's arm, and looking up to him with doe-like eyes. Ianto sneered, and turned away. She didn't even notice her obsession with Jack any more, he thought unflatteringly. 

“Could have used that portal sooner,” he grumbled under his breath, but didn't say it out loud. He didn't want even one single word breathed about their experience on Arcadia. If need be, he would bury the reports of their involuntary journey in the deepest recesses of the Archives so that no living soul would ever find them again. Better even if he could convince Jack not to write a report in the first place. He as the boss had been involved in the whole mess, so he knew what had happened. Therefore, there was no need for a report, nobody demanded any accountability from Jack. They could simply let this matter drop under the table. 

He sneaked a careful look at Jack who, despite Gwen's and now Owen's fussing, looked at Ianto with an unreadable expression while they assailed him with questions. With only this one gaze, he tried to convey all of the things he would do to Jack if he should dare to mention what had happened on Arcadia. Jack swallowed, clearly understanding the threat, but at the same time, he smiled at Ianto. They nodded at each other in mutual agreement, and Ianto relaxed. No matter Jack's usual brashness and cockiness, he would never allow for Ianto to be humiliated in front of their colleagues and friends. Ianto knew that Jack would do his utmost to protect his lover's dignity, even if he had to simply breeze over noisy people like Gwen, and tell them to shut the fuck up, the matter wasn't open for discussion. He should have known, really, that Jack wasn't like that. 

 

Ianto didn't get out of a complete check-up Owen almost dragged him down to into the medical bay. Jack did of course, the bastard. Obviously, even Owen had accepted by now that it was no use trying to force Jack into any medical exams since he couldn't get ill anyway. Ianto only hoped snidely that at least Gwen wouldn't lay off, and force their beloved leader to a heart-to-heart about his mental well-being. Jack so loved to talk about his feelings after all.

That thought made him feel better, and let him suffer Owen's fussing and his tests with a little more grace. 

“Why are you all sticky?”

He jumped at Owen's question, and looked wide-eyed at the medic. “What?!”

None too gently, Owen rubbed and poked at Ianto's naked shoulder. “There. All sticky. Like oil.” He brought his fingers up to his nose to sniff them. Ianto grimaced. “Smells like herbs.” The doctor narrowed his eyes. “What have you been up to wherever you were?” he asked suspiciously. He put his hands onto his hips exasperated, and sneered. “Don't tell me, we're all worried here while you and the Captain indulge in a fuck-feast.”

“It's none of your business, Owen,” Ianto retorted through gritted teeth, and, fed up, briskly pulled on his shirt again. He shuddered inwardly because it was dirty, and grimy, and slightly sticky from the resident traces of oil on his body, but he nonetheless put it on again with the same care and dignity he would have a fresh one. He couldn't wait to put it into the laundry. Better even, burn it.

He huffed because he realised how ridiculous he was behaving in his mounting agitation. So, before he could say something he would surely regret, he fled the medical bay, steadfastly ignoring Owen's colourful complains echoing after him. 

 

For the rest of the day, after finally being able to shower and change, Ianto hid down in the Archives, and only came up again when he could be sure that the others had gone home.

That left facing Jack, of course. 

Bracing himself for the inevitable talk, Ianto went into Jack's office with a steaming-hot mug of coffee for them both to prevent him from falling back onto something stronger. A drunken rage wouldn't help any of them.

Jack looked up from writing something as Ianto put down the mug in front of him, throwing him a grateful smile. Without a word, Ianto sat down in the chair before Jack's desk, nursing his coffee while he waited for Jack to finish whatever he was doing (hopefully not a report on their trip, Ianto thought with a grimace). 

Eventually, Jack put down his pen, and instead reached for the steaming mug, cradling it between his hands. 

Ianto felt nervous under Jack's scrutinising gaze, and buried his nose in his own mug. “Thought you wanted to talk,” he mumbled, not meeting Jack's eyes.

“Only if you want to, Ianto,” the Captain replied. “We don't have to mention it ever again if you don't want to.”

Ianto's gaze snapped up to glare at Jack. “That doesn't make it go away.”

“No,” Jack sighed, and stared down into the brown liquid swirling in the porcelain before him.

“And...” Ianto bit his lip, putting his almost empty mug onto the desk in front of him decidedly. “I don't want to forget it.” He made a dismissive hand gesture at Jack's surprised look. “Not the... not the circumstances,” he amended. “I'd gladly forget having sex while being watched by dozens of people, but... what happened between us. I can't forget that.” He shrugged self-consciously. “I hadn't felt cheated of the experience by the circumstances, but simply forgetting it all, then, I really would have felt being cheated of our first time.”

He dared to raise his gaze to meet Jack's eyes dead on. Surprisingly, he was met with a bright, happy smile and even relief shining in the older man's eyes. Embarrassed, he lowered his gaze again.

“I should...” He reached for his mug nervously, rising from the chair, ready to flee the office.

“Ianto.”

He froze, looking at Jack once more.

“Stay. Please.”

For a few long minutes, they looked at each other, a hundred thoughts racing through both their minds. But eventually, Ianto nodded curtly. Just like that.

Beaming, Jack stood up, and reached out his hand towards Ianto. Without hesitation, the younger man grasped it, and let himself be pulled towards the hatch in the office floor.

They had to let go of each other's hands as they climbed down the ladder as well when they silently started stripping, never letting each other out of their sight. Down to their pants, they quickly climbed into Jack's narrow bed to escape the cold of the room. Haltingly, and a little stiffly, Ianto shuffled closer to the other man, seeking his body heat, and suppressed a surprised yelp when suddenly, Jack's arm encircled him. With gentle force, Jack arranged Ianto until the younger man lay snuggled flush against the Captain's body, his head resting on Jack's shoulder. 

It was strange, but it felt good, too, Ianto had to admit, hesitantly wrapping his own arms around Jack's middle. They hadn't done this before yet. Not even three days ago when they had had sex down here. After, Ianto had still dressed, and gone home for the night. 

This now... it felt... intimate. It felt like more. More than they had had until now in their... dabbling. Something had changed fundamentally between them although he didn't know if it was just because of their experiences on Arcadia. Maybe it had started three days ago. But no matter what had started it, behind all his trepidation, Ianto was somehow excited about the changes that had occurred. 

“Good night, Ianto,” Jack whispered.

With a small, happy smile, Ianto snuggled closer, and closed his eyes.

** End  **

 


End file.
